You are here

What was accomplished at COP 24? A civil society perspective

The rabble podcast network offers an alternative take on politics, entertainment, society, stories, community and life in general. All opinions belong to the podcaster; however, podcasters are expected to adhere to our guidelines. We welcome new podcasters -- contact us for details.

Simon Chambers has just come back from COP 24, the Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland. The conference just ended on the weekend. The conference was scheduled to take place between December 2 and 14 but went into overtime to resolve important outstanding issues.

Simon is Head of Communications at the ACT Alliance, a coalition of 151 churches and faith-based organisations working together in over 125 countries. Unlike some of the far right churches we hear about, the membership of ACT Alliance consists of churches which do believe that climate change is real, and that faith based groups should be part of the dialogue.Their ACT for Climate Justice Now campaign aims to bridge the technical, moral and ethical perspectives on climate justice. AT COP24 it mobilized members to safeguard the integrity of creation.

On today's rabble radio, he talks to rabble radio executive producer Victoria Fenner from his office in Toronto to share his perspective on what was accomplished.

Simon estimates that there were about 28,000 people at COP 24. He says that being at COP is a rare opportunity to be together with people who are passionate about climate work, though they’re not all on the same side or have the same solutions. The language and terminology can be very difficult for non specialists to understand, so that's one of the reasons why he was there. One aspect of his job is to communicate to his stakeholders and the general public, translating language which is often dense, scientific and complicated.

And a big part of his job is about bringing the voices of the world's vulnerable population into the discussion about climate change.

More people are reading rabble.ca than ever and unlike many news organizations, we have never put up a paywall – at rabble we’ve always believed in making our reporting and analysis free to all, while striving to make it sustainable as well. Media isn’t free to produce. rabble’s total budget is likely less than what big corporate media spend on photocopying (we kid you not!) and we do not have any major foundation, sponsor or angel investor. Our main supporters are people and organizations -- like you. This is why we need your help. You are what keep us sustainable.

rabble.ca has staked its existence on you. We live or die on community support -- your support! We get hundreds of thousands of visitors and we believe in them. We believe in you. We believe people will put in what they can for the greater good. We call that sustainable.

So what is the easy answer for us? Depend on a community of visitors who care passionately about media that amplifies the voices of people struggling for change and justice. It really is that simple. When the people who visit rabble care enough to contribute a bit then it works for everyone.

And so we’re asking you if you could make a donation, right now, to help us carry forward on our mission. Make a donation today.